Inside a Bay Ridge House Makeover

A Brownstoner reader wrote in to tell us about her and her husband’s renovation project, the makeover of a standalone Bay Ridge home that department of building records say was built in 1899. We had thought it might be older, based on the shape of the house and other clues, but some digging around by our own Montrose Morris revealed that the first map to show a building there is dated 1924. This house also happened to be the boyhood home of our correspondent’s husband. As she said, “This project was a great challenge to all involved as we kept the entire footprint the same while adding large windows to create the illusion of grandeur.” The house’s footprint was “untouched” from the original home that sat on this “little hill in Bay Ridge for 114 years.” The house was purchased by her husband’s parents in the 1960s and had deteriorated over the years. The clean-out took around six months, and the couple found old World War II memorabilia, an 1854 Ansonia Clock, old museum prints, and old watercolor paintings. Over the past eight months, the couple took on a major re-do. They put in a new foundation, new sub-floors, all new mechanicals, and reinforced the steel throughout. Closets were added throughout the home. For the facade, they used limestone stucco and energy-efficient, impact-resistant hurricane windows and doors. The staircase was moved, but they reproduced the pattern of the old balusters in the new one. They restored all the light fixtures in the house and incorporated them into the interior design; the original mantel was refinished as well. The front mahogany doors were built by a team of craftsman in Dunkirk, N.Y., and all other products in the home were made in the United States. The contractors used were Cavalier Construction Services, based in Red Hook, and the architect was Pasquale Castellano. Click through to see lots of pictures and read more details!

The home in the 1950s.

The home in the 1970s. The owner said, “We salvaged [a] shutter from the exterior and weathered it for artwork in the basement.”

The interior before the renovation.

Interior detail before the renovation. Said the owner: “The most interesting of all [our finds] was the spectacular lighting which has been incorporated throughout the house accented by repros from Rejuvenation that compliment each other.”

The rear of the home during renovation.

The restored lighting and mantelpiece. “Although the fireplace mantel was not grand, as those seen in brownstones, it is original to the home and was stripped and refinished.”

Restored lighting.

The new staircase: “We moved the staircase from the center to the entrance and replicated the design element from the original.”

Hmm. I don’t want to be mean but this renovation could easily have been so much better! First, the fence and railings are too high and have a commercial look. In front of the house it looks like there is a large patio – I would grade the slope up higher and plant some shrubs so the railing there is not needed at all. Or use a low wall as a barrier if there are small kids. The balcony above the doorway could have been cute if smaller – like a Juliet balcony. As it is, it is too big to project out like that without any columns for support. Again the railing is too high and cage-like. The railings don’t have to be that high for a single family residence. The second floor windows are too big and they should have been aligned with the top of the balcony door. The horizontal orientation of the window panes is awkward. Maybe the roof is still to be done, but with this quasi-Mediterranean facade treatment they may as well add a tile roof!

Did the owner actually ask you about your personal architectural opinion of the final design of the house? How about if the owner actually wanted it this way? And is happy with it..? I think it looks awesome!

I have no idea why anyone would subject themselves to a critique by Frownstoners. If you’re happy with the way your house turned out, why would you seek validation from bunch of snarky anonymous readers?

Not sure why there has been so much negativity on this beautiful renovation that is clearly still a work in progress. This is probably one of the most tasteful and articulate renovations I’ve seen thus far in Bay Ridge from the real stone used around the bold windows to the color choices and finishes. .. Additionally, to the commentary regarding railings obviously experts have not been critiquing this site as the railing code in NYC today is 42″. Kudos to these homeowners who scored a homerun on this renovation. Superb and sophisticated as compared to some of the hideous modern structures going up in Park Slope, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights.

I live in this immediate neighborhood. I am also an architect. I continually scoff at the lack of preservation here, especially because the area was once so rich in architectural content. Nowadays, there are only a handful of real beauties left.

First of all there are only a dozen of real beauties and this happens to be one of them especially from a structural perspective. Judging by your code name I would expect that your commentary is as tacky as your architectural expertise.

The old house looked closed in and claustrophobic. The new one seems to embrace the soon to be tropical climate of Southern Brooklyn. I’m not sure I love the mediterranean detailing, but most of the country disagrees with me. They kept it the same size, so there can be no complaints about “macmansioning it.” it looks like it will be a lovely home to live in.